Two separate guerilla attacks kill 18 in Colombia
BOGOTA
Two separate attacks blamed on dissident guerilla groups killed 18 people and wounded dozens in Colombia on Aug. 21, one involving a truck bomb while a drone downed a police helicopter in the other, deepening the country's most serious security crisis in decades.
The latest deadly attacks, which struck the southwestern city of Cali and a coca farm in the north, pose fresh challenges to Colombia's fragile peace processes ahead of elections next year.
Around 3 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT), a truck loaded with explosives was detonated on a busy street near a military aviation school in Cali, killing six people and wounding more than 60, officials said.
Images shared on social media showed vehicles on fire, destroyed homes, injured people on the ground and people fleeing in panic amid the sound of alarms and screams.
Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder ordered martial law for the country's third most populous city. He also announced a temporary ban on large trucks entering the city and called on the public to report information about the incident for a $10,000 reward.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez blamed the attack on the Central General Staff (EMC) guerrilla group, led by warlord Ivan Mordisco.
The group broke away from the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after it agreed to lay down arms for a historic peace deal in 2016.
Earlier on Aug. 21, in the northeast of the country, guerrillas from another breakaway FARC group attacked police overseeing the eradication of coca crops, which are used to produce cocaine.
Armed with rifles and a drone, the fighters shot down the helicopter and killed 12 police officers, wounding three more.
Sanchez initially blamed the attack on the Clan del Golfo, Colombia's biggest drug cartel.
But he later said the attack was the work of a faction that split from EMC led by a commander under the alias of Calarca.
